After a week of speculation surrounding Southern Miss' QB room after the reinstatement of senior Kwadra Griggs, it was Abraham who led the Golden Eagles to a 40-22 victory over Rice in their Conference USA opener.

Abraham was characteristically efficient, completing 25-of-34 passes for 428 yards and four touchdowns. On the season, Abraham now has 10 touchdown passes and is completing 72 percent of his passes.

Abraham's second touchdown came on a swing pass to running back Tez Parks, who scampered 14 yards into the end zone for his first career receiving score. His third came on a shovel pass to Jaylond Adams, who weaved from behind the line of scrimmage downfield six yards for his second touchdown of 2018. Adams' first TD also came on a shovel pass.

Sophomore wide receiver Quez Watkins continued his scoring streak with a 28-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. The catch was Watkins' fifth receiving and sixth overall TD in 2018. Watkins, who has scored at least once in all three of USM's games this season, finished with five catches for 85 yards and a TD.

Freshman running backs Trivenskey Mosley and Steven Anderson earned their first significant reps of their careers. Mosley carried eight times for 41 yards while Anderson rushed eight times for 52yards and a touchdown. Anderson's TD came after a Rachaun Mitchell interception set Southern Miss up on the 1-yard line and stood as one of the rare USM offensive snaps to come out of the I-formation.

Aside from a few busted plays, Southern Miss' defense did a great job of positioning its offense to be successful. The Golden Eagles halted Rice's offense with four three-and-outs and created two turnovers, interceptions by cornerbacks Ty Williams and Mitchell. Both of those interceptions led to Southern Miss touchdowns, creating a 14-point turnaround.

Rice scored its first touchdown on a 62-yard rush by running back Austin Walter in the first quarter. Factoring out that play, Southern Miss held Rice to 2.68 yards per carry on the evening. Rice entered Saturday's action averaging more than 4.5 yards per rush in 2018.

Southern Miss will play its first road game of 2018 next Saturday with a trip into SEC country against Auburn. Action is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.

Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson, left, talks to offensive line coach Erik Losey, right, in a game against Rice at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday, September 22, 2018. Susan Broadbridge/Hattiesburg American

Southern Miss players and head coach Jay Hopson run onto the field at the start of a conference game against Rice at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday, September 22, 2018. Susan Broadbridge/Hattiesburg American

Go figure

1: Southern Miss only surrendered one sack and Abraham only fumbled one time, both of which were significant improvements after the Golden Eagles' struggles to protect the passer in their loss to UL-Monroe two weeks ago.

4:36: USM's offense operated under a quick-strike philosophy. No single drive lasted longer than 4:36.

6: Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham threw for 428 yards, becoming the sixth quarterback in school history to surpass the 400-yard mark in a single game.

9: Nine different Southern Miss players caught a pass with no one player making more than five receptions.

56: USM returned two first-half interceptions a combined 56 yards, once landing the offense inside the 1-yard line. The Golden Eagles scored 14 points as a result of those two interceptions.

132: The total yardage earned by wide receiver De'Michael Harris. Harris caught four passes for 99 yards, rushed twice for 19 yards and returned one kick for 14 yards.